APPEALING to members of the joint services, who are set to cast their ballots on February 21, 2020, the People’s Progressive Party’s General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, said come Friday if they throw their support behind the PPP/C the one-month tax-free bonus will be ‘re-instated’.

Jagdeo was at the time addressing a gathering at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, during a rally held on Sunday afternoon. “I just want to say this to the members of the joint services, who will be voting on the 21st; the soldiers and the policemen and others …now our policemen and others have a chance to vote for the restoration of their one-month bonus and they have a duty to vote to end political interference in their service. They will be voting shortly and I have to leave this message with them,” he stated.

Additionally, Jagdeo urged the members of the joint services to not believe the promises which opposing parties may have made during the campaign season and instead place their confidence and future in the PPP/C, to ensure a better life for themselves and the future generation of Guyana. Urging supporters at the rally to pledge allegiance to the party, Jagdeo noted that the coalition government has not yet been able to fulfill the promises in their manifesto since 2015 as such the current A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) + Alliance for Change (AFC) government is not to be trusted.

“How could anybody in their right mind believe anything that APNU says? How could you believe anything that they say when everything that they put in their manifesto in 2015, they failed to fulfil. So comrades, don’t be seduced by this nonsense of new promises,” he noted.

While criticising the coalition government, the party’s opposition leader noted that the PPP/C is the only political party in Guyana that has the country’s best interest at heart, and that was why the PPP/C managed to stay in office for over 23 years. Jagdeo said the PPP/C is a national party that caters for the development and enhancement of everyone, from residents in Linden to those in the hinterland regions. Jagdeo further reassured supporters that the PPP/C will return to government and ensure that all Guyanese are treated fairly and reap the fruits of the rising oil and gas industry in Guyana, which he accused the APNU+ AFC of selling away to the oil companies.

The party’s leader further urged persons to ensure that they check for their names on the voters’ list and know their polling places in order to avoid confusion on elections day and to place their faith in the party since he believes the PPP/C is stronger than ever and should not be underestimated. “Ensure that you know where you are voting and if you’re misplaced in another division, make plans to go there and vote. Every vote matters comrades… We’re in the last stretch. We’ve run the more distance. It’s been a hard battle to get here. We’ve had to fight them tooth and nail, in Parliament etcetera… But your party is very strong. Don’t underestimate the strength of the People’s Progressive Party”, Jagdeo told supporters.